(English version follows. Today’s online publication of the complete review, in English and French, is sponsored by Freespace Dance. See Freespace Dance perform and then party with the company February 23 at the Space at Yoga Mechanics in Montclair, New Jersey, lovely this time of year. More info here. To find out about sponsorship opportunities with the Dance Insider, the leading voice for dancers since 1998, contact publisher Paul Ben-Itzak at paulbenitzak@gmail.com .)

LYON — The 20 dancers of Malandain Ballet Biarritz provoked a veritable deluge at the Maison de la Danse with their new piece “Noé” (Noah), seen December 26. Thierry Malandain, a fixture of the French neo-classical dance scene, has frequently appropriated the major classics of literature for his work, most recently the 2016 “Beauty and the Beast,” the 2013 “Cinderella” and the 2010 “Romeo and Juliette.” With “Noé,” Malandain is once more up to the challenge, succeeding in weaving a religious myth into a powerful ballet full of humanity.

The dance, which clocks in at just 70 minutes, is more abstract than Malandain’s previous adaptations in the sense that the choreography is more or less simply sketched out and pasted on to the history. The narrative element is less present, which enables the spectator to feel less manipulated and let the imagination take off. To illustrate the flood, for example, a grand curtain of turquoise pearls surrounds an entirely blue stage. This simple and efficient scenery, created by Jorge Gallardo, highlights the bodies.

And what bodies! The dancers’ technique is precise and poignant. The composition of the show certainly includes fixed tableaux but the choreography flies by so swiftly, with one gesture shifting into the next, that we’re swept away by the movement. The choreographic composition is precise and gripping: the bodies intermingle in jaw-dropping pas des deux and traverse the space with lightning force. The style is in the continuity of the choreographer’s usual approach, built on a strong classical base and a reinterpretation of more modern movement, for example by tapping into contemporary floor techniques. The changing of space is sharp and shrill. Thierry Malandin’s genius finds itself in the way he manages the stage space.

The inspired interpretation of the dancers reveals many facets: at times powerful and animal — for instance when it comes to depicting the animals present on the ark — at others light and poetic, as in the portrayals of the love between Adam and Eve.

The entire ballet is set to Rossini’s “Messa Di Gloria,” rending the bodies that much more present when they mix it up with the powerful voices delivering the liturgical oeuvre.

I really appreciated seeing a neo-classical company in which all the dancers were equitably put on the same plane in an ensemble spirit of communion, harkening the spirit of Balanchine’s New York City Ballet. There’s certainly a hierarchy when it comes to the narrative, as with the two principal roles: Noah interpreted by Mickaël Conte and Emzara by Irma Hoffren. But these last don’t take up all the space in the story. The other dancers are equally important and the ensemble sections, with 20 dancers reunited on the stage, remain the most moving moments of the dance.

It’s with details like this that Thierry Malandain has succeeded in modernizing the classical technique and in adapting such a substantial oeuvre today. We’re a long way from the religious cliché and completely gripped by the humanist and universal dimensions of the story.

LYON (Rhône-Alpes), France — A complex idea treated with a subtle and child-like direction: Such is the gamble in which the choreographers Honji Wang and Sébastien Ramirez and their eponymous company have emerged triumphant. “We are Monchichi” is the story of an encounter between two dancers foreign to France, two distinct nationalities which must cohabit and which tangle and untangle their bodies over the course of the 55-minute work. It’s also the story of two immigrants disembarked in France who must habituate themselves to the clichés associated with their birth countries. The piece, seen at the Maison de la Danse October 22 — and reprised at the Theatre de la Ville November 21-25 (Espace Cardin) and March 5-9 (Abbesses) — is perfect for a young audience. And indeed, the audience for the performance I caught was packed with children and their families….

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This week exclusively on the Dance Insider e-mail list: Anne-Charlotte Schoepfer writes about the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Lyon’s Maison de la Danse performances of Stéphane Delatre’s “Her Body is a Cage,” excerpts from William Forsythe’s “The Vile Parody of Address,” and (above), conservatory director Davy Brun’s “LAK.” DI subscribers receive the entire review in French and in English, plus art. Not yet a DI subscriber? To subscribe to the DI and access both this new content and 2,000 archived stories by 150 writers covering 20 years of performances and art on five continents, plus five years of the Jill Johnston Letter, for just $39.95/year individuals or $69.95 institutions, just designate your PayPal payment in that amount to paulbenitzak@gmail.com, or write us at that address to find out about payment by check or in Euros. (In the latter case, the payments will be directed to our European correspondents.) You can also contact us at that address to find out about limited, well-integrated e-mail advertising options. Sarah Lowicki photograph courtesy CNSMD.

Haven’t yet subscribed to the DI? This week you’re missing Anne-Charlotte Schoepfer’s coverage, in French and English, of Sao Paolo Dance Company’s French debut at the Maison de la Danse in Lyon, featuring, above, Vinícius Vieira and Céu Cinzento in Clébio Oliveira’s “Cinzento,” photographed by Juliana Hilal. DI subscribers also receive, from the DI’s 20-year archives of more than 2,000 exclusive articles by 150 writers related to performances on five continents, Paul Ben-Itzak’s exclusive 1995 interview with the late Uwe Scholz, one of the choreographers featured in the company’s performance. To subscribe to the DI and access both this new content and archived stories, for just $29.95/year individuals or $49.95 institutions, just designate your PayPal payment in that amount to paulbenitzak@gmail.com, or write us at that address to find out about payment by check or in Euros. (In the latter case, the payments will be directed to our European correspondents.) You can also contact us at that address to find out about limited, well-integrated e-mail advertising options.

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(Published in French and in English, you’ll find the first paragraphs of both versions below. For the complete versions — in both languages — and more photography, subscribers please e-mail paulbenitzak@gmail.com . Not already a subscriber? Subscribe with PayPal for just $29.95/year by designating your PayPal payment to paulbenitzak@gmail.com, or write us at that address to find out how to subscribe by check. Subscribers get full access to the Dance Insider & Arts Voyager’s 20-year Archive of more than 2000 exclusive reviews by 150 critics of performances and art from five continents, plus the Jill Johnston Letter.)

BRON (Rhône-Alpes), France — “Quintette,” seen March 1, is the story of five people who come together, break apart, sympathize with each other and rend each other asunder. In the 50-minute piece, presented at the Pôle en Scène as part of the Sens Dessus Dessous festival organized by the Maison de la Danse in nearby Lyon, the emerging choreographer Jann Gallois explores every facet of connecting and disconnecting (in French, ‘accrochage’ and ‘décrochage’) with movement. As the dance develops, Gallois explores what happens when one abandons the ego, or, by contrast, elbows everyone else out of the way, leaving the ensemble to collapse into disaccord and complete cacophony. We thus careen between fluid and gentle passages and staccato jumps and starts punctuated with explosive vocal eruptions….

(Published in French and in English, you’ll find the first paragraphs of both versions below. For the complete versions — in both languages — and more photography, subscribers please e-mail paulbenitzak@gmail.com . Not already a subscriber? Subscribe with PayPal for just $29.95/year by designating your PayPal payment to paulbenitzak@gmail.com, or write us at that address to find out how to subscribe by check. Subscribers get full access to the Dance Insider & Arts Voyager’s 20-year Archive of more than 2000 exclusive reviews by 150 critics of performances and art from five continents, plus the Jill Johnston Letter.)

LYON, France — Impeccable virtuosity, lines which stretch out to infinity, faultless precision – such are the trademarks of the 12 dancers of Lines Contemporary Ballet, seen December 14 at the Maison de la Danse. Alonzo King, director and choreographer of the San Francisco-based company, succeeds in transporting us with this excellence, but forgets to really surprise the spectator that I am….